I think the locking connectors are over rated, IMO. Especially on a display connector.

You actually have it correct.

The "wall" that keeps you from installing the plugs backwards should face the interior of the card, the pins face the exterior.

If the "walls" were installed along the exterior of the boards, then it would impossible to hook your microclips for testing around the pins while the connectors were still installed.

I have been through reverse connectors is if the game is ever sold and these are pulled it can create pretty big problems. Just make sure it is labeled and with something permanent. I have destroyed a Meteor and Quicksilver power supply over the long connector on the power supplies being put on backwards / reversed. So please everyone just label the connectors once you do this. Not a big deal until the game changes hands and something is not labeled. So permanent marker everyone.

Just make sure if you flip your connector pins to match some crazy-backwards-assembled aftermarket display, than you don't forget to put the plastic keying pin back in

Otherwise, someone in the future will certainly put it back together the "right" way, which is now backwards

I was able to force the plugs on still on my star gazer FYI

Hey Quicksilver owners, I'm looking for a few pictures to complete my QS build. In particular, I am looking for:
1. A clear pic of how to wire up the speaker area. It looks like green/yellow and green/white go to the speaker, but not sure how to wire up the volume control. Any tips?
2. A clear pic of how to wire up the tilt area. I can see some of where the wires go, but not all. In particular, I don't seem to have a white/black wire on my new harness for the plumb bob. ?
3. A clear pic(s) of which colored wires get hooked up to the specific controlled lamps for the backbox. I have the smaller harness (6-prong) wired, but can't find any pics of where the larger (9-prong) harness wires go to.
4. My coin door is from an older Stern which only had 1 switch. Is there any reason I absolutely have to have both switches? If not, which wires are go to the important switch?

Pics included for reference. Many thanks!
IMG_6126 (resized).JPGIMG_6127 (resized).JPGIMG_6128 (resized).JPG

My QS is outside the house now, but you may be able to find what you need in my (many) QS scratch build project picture folder, https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ahxi0c_5v2PVpeoWEatwBzJNKreYyw?e=E6yT5H

Well, as of last month, I'm officially in the club! I could of had a totally beat QS four years ago for $1800, but regrettably didn't pull the trigger.

Instead, I ended up making a deal for the "whitewood" QS that was floating around Pinside a year or so ago. The game appears to have a PF that was sanded down and clear-coated. Pretty certain it is not a whitewood. The cabinet was repainted nicely at some point, the BG is NOS, and oddly, the plastics are clear.

I've already picked up a Mirco PF and plastics, and I plan on doing a PF swap at some point. In the meantime the game plays fast, and I am enjoying learning the rules without any PF art or insert markings to guide me.

My apron is the orange and black variety. I have a spare Stern white apron, and plan on stripping it, painting it green, and using a Pinball Rescue decal to complete it. Any recommendations on the color of green to use? I picked up a can of Ace Hardware generic green gloss enamel, and it looks pretty close to the PF green, but I am thinking that maybe I should try to find a exact match if possible. Any suggestions from anyone who has painted one of these aaprons and done the Pinball Rescue decal?

Thanks man. This helps a TON. Seriously, you are a picture champion. Still a bit muddy on how the backbox controlled lamps wire up as it's difficult to see, but this gets me much farther.

I used that color green and it turned out great. That said, if I had an orange and black original, I'd use that for sure. The Pinball Rescue one is decent, but not without it's flaws. You get ONE chance to put it on right.

AKAIK, there is the standard black and orange, and there is a black with light green stripes pictured earlier in this thread. My apron is original and is a dark metallic green with the lighter green stripes.

I played that one. Kinda figured it wasn't a whitewood, but hell, you got an original that you're swaping in a new pf for. That's better than building a frankenstein version.

Yes, the green/white and green/yellow go to the speaker. The purple/yellow and purple/black go to the volume pot. One wire will be on the center lug and the other needs to go to one of the side lugs. I usually figure out which one using a meter but someone smarter than me may have a better answer.

The tilt is wired up the same as on any Bally diagram. Since I could source no concrete Stern info I had no choice but to go that way. The wite/black wire should have been rolled up with the roll of tilt panel wires. If not, it is missing and I'll get one out to you.

In the backbox, the red and white wires will go to one run of GI bulbs and the orange and green wires will go to the other. The blue wire will be daisy chained to each controlled lamp. This is their power wire. There should be enough to tie it in with the harness that connects to the score displays.

A lot of you seem to be needing more info than I have been putting out so I will centralize it all here. Whatever y'all need just ask and I will post what I can.

sb-300 (resized).png

tilt wiring (resized).jpg

coin door -

Green and yellow/white go to the lockout coil. Green to the BANDED side of the coil!

White to one side of the memory clear switch and red to one side of the test switch. Yellow/red goes to the other side of both. Daisy chain from one to the other.

Blue, brown/white and red/white go to the coin chutes starting at the hinge side and working out. Red/yellow goes to the other side of the coin chute switches and will daisy chain from one to the next as well as to the slam and credit buttons.

Blue/white to the other side of the credit switch, yellow to the other side of the slam.

Red/green and yellow/black daisy chain to your GI lights.

Should read green/red and yellow/black daisy chain to the GI lights.

Thanks! I'm going to try the green paint and the Pinball Rescue decal to see how it comes out after applying my limited skills to the task. Only risk is ruining an already ugly beat-up white Stern apron, and losing a $25 decal. The orange and black apron is my back-up, though I'm not crazy with the way it looks on QS.

Yes, but prepare to wait a LONG time to get it shipped. Coming from AUS, it took like 2.5 months to arrive!

Yeah, I was happy to find it.

Pinball Rescue is doing only DHL shipping now which is unfortunately $34 for a decal. I need a couple decals myself if you (or anyone) is interested in doing a group buy and save on shipping.

I had to pay something like $16.00 to have a decal shipped a couple of years. I was sucking in my breath at that.

im in for 2 QS Apron decals

I need a star gazer and a quicksilver.

Cool, I just sent an email to Pinball Rescue. After I get confirmation from them that they can accommodate, I’ll start a thread to see who else wants in.

They should be able to get them to you... I just got one for a client last week and they will ship DHL for 35 bucks and have it here 7-10 days.

p

Heard back from Lee today! Just started a group buy thread: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/group-buy-pinball-rescue-restoration-decals#post-6051750

Here's the result. I definitely like the green version better.

The decals were pretty easy to install. My only complaint is that I have very fine air bubbles-- admittedly hard to see-- under the decal despite doing the soap and credit card squeegee method.

SternQuicksilverApron2 - 1 (resized).jpg

SternQuicksilverAprons - 1 (resized).jpg

It looks nice, but for the life of me I cannot figure out why the decal maker could not get the Stern Electronics printed correctly.

I had a similar issue with bubbles but they seemed to work their way out after a week or so. When I first did the coin door decals, they looked like absolute shit. After a week, it looks fantastic (pics are roughly day 1, day 3, and day 6... don't have a more recent photo handy that shows all the bubbles gone).

For the guys in my group decal buy, I just got a text from DHL while I was typing this: they're out for delivery!

7DF7789F-34A1-43C9-9D22-A60B6913B855 (resized).jpeg

Screen Shot 2021-01-27 at 11.27.08 AM (resized).png

Your pops sure are lit up nicely.

That's good to hear. Makes me feel a lot better!

I splurged for the EVO lights from Pinball Life. I hate the way ring lights look with translucent caps but with opaque ones they're fantastic. I had higher hopes for the "flash react" feature but it just makes it seem like a flaky socket in the center since it'll flash when other mechs (or even flippers) are activated. Now that you mention it, I have been meaning to ask why that one in the back left is noticeably dimmer than the others.

I' be curious to see a photo of those with an opaque cap on them.

My pic above is using the original-style opaque yellow mushroom caps on QS. It's this that I don't like...

pasted_image (resized).png

Yeah, I don't like any bright lights shooting up into my eyes either - too much glare

Could somebody help me out with something? Had 2 questions regarding the wires right next to the plumb bob and tilt mechs in the cab:
-what does the blue and brown wire go to?
-what does the red and green wire go to? In some instances it looks like the red and yellow go to both the ball tilt switch AND the slam tilt switch, but in others it seems like the red and green goes to the slam tilt; red and yellow goes to ball tilt. Not sure what to do though!

No blue-brown wire listed - sure it isn't blue-orange which is the switch return wire on the Tilt?

It's not used on Quick Silver.
Earlier Sterns had the red-green wire hooked up to the Slam switch.

It goes to the Tilt, Slam, Start and three coin chute switches. Basically all the front end cabinet/door switches. It's the switch strobe signal that will connect to the diode (non-banded side) on these switches.

Stern_CabinetSwitches.png

You're the best. Thanks man.

couple pictures of my Big Game if that helps, they should be fairly similar

20210207_102430- (resized).jpg20210207_102442- (resized).jpg

OK, one more pic needed: of the volume pot near the speaker. For some reason, my volume pot isn't working. Not sure if my wires are wired up correctly.

IMG_6325 (resized).JPG

20210207_143750- (resized).jpg

Hmmmm, I'm using a Third Coast Pinball harness and am not seeing those color wires.

Actually, hisokajp it looks like you do have purple wires going to the plug, then the wires change. Can you take a pic close-up of the plug with what color wires go to what (i.e.: purple-white goes to white-green, or whatever)?

Green/white and green/yellow to the speaker and the purple wires to the pot.

Your connections on the volume control are good enough for it to function, i.e, one wire on the middle lug, the other wire on an outer lug.
Your problem is either the volume potentiometer itself, a connection issue with those purple wires back at the sound board or a fault on the sound board itself.
For clarity, hopefully someone can confirm how those purple wires connect to the volume control but technically the way you have it doesn't matter.

Speaking of which, in the speaker picture by hisokajp above the red spot on the speaker near the right side lug indicates that's the positive "+" lug. You have the speaker wires crossed over though in a single speaker system it makes no difference. Just telling you incase you're OCD about these things. i.e. from factory:
Green-Yellow wire to the positive speaker lug
Green-White wire to the negative speaker lug

I get sound alright, but it's blasting loud. The pot doesn't do anything. It should be a 25k pot right?

Correct, the volume pot should be 25k ohms.

Have you tested it with your multi-meter?
Meter set to resistance mode, set it to 20k or 200k ohms if your meter isn't auto-ranging.
Machine OFF
One meter lead on the middle pot lug. Other meter lead on the outer pot lug where the other purple wire is soldered.
The resistance reading should vary between 0 ohms and 25k ohms as you do a slow sweep across the full pot rotation range.

BTW, where do the purple wires connect on the sound board? They should be on pins 1 and 3 of the J3 connector.

A couple of observations for clarity.

1) The speaker wires come from the back box harness and not the play field harness.

2) And your pot does not look like the original pot. My limited experience with my Sterns is the pot has a long white plastic shank for making adjustments. Your look like a replacement from what I can see in the pics.

Screen Shot 2021-02-09 at 9.14.23 AM (resized).png

Does anyone know where I can get a set of spinner decals for the game?

Thanks

pinsider Tractor Doc can help you out. Nice guy. Good product.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1169-doc-s-pinball-shop/02595-classic-stern-spinner-decal-yellow-background-green-

Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like he is out unfortunately.

Just pm him and he'll restock his shop.